Football food from one of Scranton’s best pizza places…
If you live in or around Scranton, PA, I hope you have had the opportunity to try Pepper’s Pizza. Located at 814 Theodore Street, this place has been serving up some of the most delicious pizza in the area for over a decade. In 2019, Pepper’s won local pizza expert Jim Mirabelli’s NEPA Pizza Bracket competition and that’s kind of a big deal considering Jim’s the number-one pizza authority in Northeast Pennsylvania.
Understanding that Pepper’s Pizza is unquestionably legit, I decided to pick up a tray of their Old Forge style square red and an order of hotwings to much on while I watched Penn State lose the Orange Bowl to Notre Dame.
Unlike Penn State’s football team, the grub from Pepper’s did not disappoint.
Pepper’s Pizza | Traditional 12″ Cut Red Square
If you asked me if I prefer round or square (Old Forge style) pizza, I’d tell you “round.” Generally, I prefer triangles over squares. However, that is not to say I look down on the square-cut pizza. Far from it. And when the mood strikes, as it did on gameday, I didn’t hesitate to decide on getting my red-sauced, square-cut pie from Pepper’s.
With pepperoni.
I’ve had Old Forge style pizza from several different places around where I live, including a few trays from pizzerias located in Old Forge, and Pepper’s is easily one of my favorites. The crust isn’t overly thick or chewy, rather, it’s satisfyingly firm, thin enough that you can eat two slices and not feel stuffed, and usually comes with a nicely browned bottom.
As for the red sauce, it’s slightly sweet and the main attraction of the pizza, in my opinion. Pepper’s doesn’t skimp on the stuff, either. I’ve had squares from other places that put barely enough sauce on to just barely cover the dough. When you bit into a square from Pepper’s, however, that delicious, tomatoey goodness bursts into your mouth.
The cheese game is also strong with Pepper’s red square pizza. It’s layered heavily enough that it stands up to and synergizes with the sauce. Normally, a tray of plain square cut is my go-to when ordering from Pepper’s, but for this order, I had them add the pepperoni because sometimes you need some additional cured meat in your diet, especially during NEPA winter nights.
Pepper’s Pizza | Jumbo Buffalo Wings
Is it even legal to watch football in Northeast Pennsylvania if you aren’t eating hotwings? If it is a crime, I’ll never go to jail because I don’t football without wings. Period. It’ll probably be the thing that sends me to an early grave but I’ll deal with that when I die.
I also don’t think there’s ever been a time that I’ve ordered a pizza of any kind from Pepper’s without ordering the 10 Jumbo Buffalo Wings from the appetizer section of their menu. A traditionalist, I almost always stick to the standard hot Buffalo sauce.
The wings from Pepper’s are always very decent. The sauce has just the right combination of heat and vinegar twang. The wings are satisfyingly crisp on the outside and the meat pulls easily from the bone. I could eat these wings once a week and not get tired of them.
That being said, if I had one criticism of the wings, it’s that I wouldn’t agree with the “jumbo” label the restaurant applies to them. Yes, a few of them might just barely qualify as being “jumbo”, but an equal amount would, in my wing measurement system, fall short of that distinction. Some of the wings were the length of my pinky finger. Delicious? Sure. Jumbo? Certainly not.
To be clear, though, I’m not lodging any kind of formal complaint. As I said, the wings themselves are very decent and, as someone who loves hotwings, I’d happily eat a full order of these by myself and not feel any kind of regret. The wings at Pepper’s are good.
The bottom line…
Pepper’s Pizza is an elite NEPA pizzeria and they certainly don’t need me to sing their praises, as many, many people before me have already done that. Regardless of what kind of pizza you order from Pepper’s, you can rest easy knowing you’re getting some of the best in the area. And, yeah, their wings are good, too.
